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People squeezed into the Olentangy school-board meeting to see the “turf battle,” as some dubbed
the debate over natural-grass athletic fields versus artificial turf. One big question they tried
to answer: Which one is safer for athletes?

Coaches extolled the plastic-grass turf, saying it’s just as safe for athletes as grass. Some
opponents told the Olentangy school board the opposite, that fake turf spells disaster for knees
and ankles.

Experts say neither side can claim victory yet.

“The data are truly mixed,” said Dr. James MacDonald, a sports-medicine physician at Nationwide
Children’s Hospital. “It’s not like the door is shut. This is still a debatable proposition.”

The debate began as soon as artificial turf was unfurled onto fields in the 1960s, with studies
linking early artificial turf to higher injury rates. But researchers say the jury is out on newer,
improved generations of faux turf.

In one study, paid for by a leading artificial-turf maker, researchers found that 7 percent
fewer injuries occurred on artificial turf. A newer study in 2012 found that college football
players had a 40 percent higher risk of tearing a certain knee ligament on fake turf between 2004
and 2008. Other studies have concluded that risks on the two types of turf are comparable.

Meanwhile, schools have been eager to switch to synthetic turf that they say saves on
maintenance costs in the long run.

The Olentangy school board decided last week to allow synthetic turf, as schools in New Albany,
Worthington and Bexley have recently done with some fields.

“Everyone’s moving in that direction,” said Dave Cecutti, the commissioner of the 32-team Ohio
Capital Conference. “It’s almost like grass now; it really is.”

Some argue that a well-maintained grass field might be great, but few schools can afford to
repair every divot or lay new sod after it rains.

“We play a lot on those fields during the rainy months, and that’s a bigger concern,” said Jim
Chickerella, who is part of the group raising money to install artificial turf at Olentangy Liberty
High School. “It’s just a big, sloppy mud area.”

Fields at Westerville South High School had a similar problem before they were converted to
turf.

“At least it’s level,” said Cathy Noskowiak, the president of sports boosters at Westerville
South. “You don’t have the holes and the divots when you’re playing football.”

A renewed focus at the state level on preventing head injuries also might add momentum for
artificial turf. Schools can test density to make sure it’s uniform and softer than a dry field.
Bexley school officials have seen fewer head injuries since they switched to fake grass on their
football field about 10 years ago. They recently switched the softball field, too.

MacDonald still has his fears. Players tell him how “sticky” the surface feels.

“The grip is so strong, they will plant, and the knee will buckle,” said MacDonald, who is also
the team physician for Bexley schools. “That would give me pause with moving forward as a school to
replace grass with turf.”

If a district asked him whether it should switch to fake turf, MacDonald said he would suggest
holding off, at least until the data are more conclusive.

Neal Gearinger, who lives in the Olentangy district, has made that case to its officials, but
board members said they have seen no local evidence of an increase in risk.

“There’s something about artificial turf that’s either causing more injuries or different kinds
of injuries, so it’s not benign; it’s not harmless stuff,” Gearinger said. “Why don’t we err on the
side of caution?”